Day temperatures dipped in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday as widespread rain lashed the plains, including Srinagar, and fresh snowfall occurred in the higher reaches.
“In the last 12 hours, fresh snowfall has occurred in Zojila Pass, Drass and other higher reaches,” the Met office said on Friday morning.
The same conditions would continue till Saturday after which the weather will start improving, it added.
Gulmarg, the famous ski-resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, and areas near Amarnath Cave also received fresh snowfall, an official of the meteorological department here said.
The plain areas in the Valley were lashed by rains which brought down the maximum temperature below the normal for this part of the season, the official said.
The minimum temperature was 8.6 degrees Celsius in Srinagar, while it was 4.4 in Pahalgam and zero in Gulmarg. Leh town recorded 6.1 and Kargil 2.6 as the minimum temperature on Friday.
Jammu’s minimum was 18.3, Katra’s 15.6, Bannihal 8.4, Batote 8.5 and Bhaderwah recorded 8.9 degrees Celsius.
Srinagar recorded a maximum of 18.5 degrees Celsius on Thursday, against the normal of 21.1 degrees Celsius.
As the day and night temperatures dropped, woollens came out.
With just past a dry winter spell in Kashmir, the spring rains were more than welcomed by the people. It will help better the flow in rivers, streams, springs and lakes in the Valley.
Meanwhile, Divisional Administration, Kashmir, has issued an avalanche warning for hilly and avalanche-prone areas of the Valley and Ladakh region.
Avalanche warning exists for avalanche prone slopes of Kupwara, Bandipora, Baramulla, Anantnag, Kulgam, Budgam, Ganderbal, Kargil and Leh districts of Kashmir Division for Friday, an official of the Divisional Administration said.
He said all deputy commissioners concerned had been asked to take precautionary measures in their respective districts and advise people not to venture in avalanche-prone areas and monitor the situation regularly to avert any untoward incident.